New Ban Means E-Cigarettes Should Go Up in Smoke in LA

Jeff Niederdeppe, a communication professor at Cornell University who studies health messaging – specifically how media, marketing and warning messages on tobacco products impact sales to youth – comments on how Los Angeles’ decision to ban e-cigarettes in many public spaces will help stop the glamorization of e-cigarette use.

Niederdeppe says:

“The Los Angeles City Council has joined New York City and Chicago in recommending a ban on e-cigarette use in public spaces. This decision comes on the heels of public criticism of glamorization of these products in Los Angeles during the Academy Awards by Julia Louise Dryfus and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“The decision is thus likely to be consequential from the perspective of de-normalizing and de-glamourizing their use.

“E-cigarettes have rapidly grown in popularity, yet there is much left to learn about their potential health impact and potential utility as a way to help smokers quit smoking cigarettes. Preventing their use in public spaces seems appropriate in light of their potential to hook young people on nicotine or lead to their use of cigarettes.”

Cornell University has television, ISDN and dedicated Skype/Google+ Hangout studios available for media interviews.